    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 27 (Monday, July 14, 2008)]
    [Pages 962-963]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    July 5, 2008

        Good morning. This weekend, Americans are celebrating the
    anniversary of our Nation's independence. Two hundred and thirty-two
    years ago, our Founding Fathers came together in Philadelphia to
    proclaim that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by
    their Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit
    of happiness.
        The man who wrote those immortal words was Thomas Jefferson.
    Yesterday, I celebrated the Fourth of July at Monticello, Jefferson's
    home in Virginia. While there, I witnessed an event that would have made
    the author of the Declaration of Independence

    [[Page 963]]

    proud. On Monticello's lawn, more than 70 men and women from dozens of
    countries raised their right hands to take the oath of American
    citizenship. They swore their allegiance to the Constitution. They
    promised that they would defend the laws of the United States. And they
    reminded everyone in attendance that the promise of America is open to
    all.
        These new citizens come from countries as diverse as Burma,
    Afghanistan, Norway, and Iraq. These new citizens are proof that there
    is no American race, just an American creed. In the United States, we
    believe in the rights and dignity of every person; we believe in equal
    justice, limited government, and the rule of law; and we believe in
    personal responsibility and tolerance towards others. This creed of
    freedom and equality has lifted the lives of millions of Americans,
    whether citizens by birth or citizens by choice.
        This creed of freedom has required brave defenders, and every
    generation of Americans has produced them. From the soldiers who fought
    for independence at Bunker Hill and Yorktown to the Americans who broke
    the chains of slavery, liberated Europe and Asia from tyranny, and
    brought down an evil empire, the people of this great land have always
    risen to freedom's defense.
        Today, the men and women of America's Armed Forces continue this
    proud tradition of defending liberty. In places like Afghanistan and
    Iraq, many risk their lives every day to protect America and uphold the
    principle that human freedom is the birthright of all people and a gift
    from the Almighty. These brave Americans make it possible for America to
    endure as a free society. So on this Fourth of July, we owe all those
    who wear the uniform of the United States a special debt of gratitude.
    And we thank their families for supporting them in this crucial time for
    our Nation.
        The Fourth of July is a day when all Americans take a moment to
    share a collective sense of pride in our country. We live in a Nation
    founded on the power of an idea, a Nation where opportunity is limited
    only by imagination, and a Nation that has done more than any other to
    spread the light of liberty throughout the world. Today, that light
    shines as brightly as it did in 1776. And with ``the protection of
    Divine Providence,'' it will continue to shine brightly for generations
    to come.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 8:55 a.m. on July 3 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 5. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    July 3 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of
    the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this
    address.